Tag: Carlos Condit

Following his razor thin split-decision loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 195, it looked as if Carlos Condit might be hanging up his gloves for good. It was his second title fight loss in as many attempts (not counting his interim title win over Nick Diaz), the UFC didn’t appear to have any interest in booking an immediate rematch, and Condit himself had mentioned some concerns about the future of his mental well-being. When looking back on his illustrious 39-fight career, it just didn’t seem as if Condit had anything left to prove, which made his impending decision all the more sensible.

On the other hand, pride. If Georges St. Pierre, BJ Penn, and Fedor Emelianenko still believe that they have another title run left in them, then why shouldn’t Condit? A win over any top 10 opponent should put him right back in the running, so really, it’d be foolish for Condit *not* to put his health on the line for one last shot at glory, if you think about it.

Thankfully, it appears that this line of thinking is something that “The Natural Born Killer” can get behind, which is why he’s announced that he will in fact be returning to take on fellow top contender Demian Maia at UFC 202.

We can debate the decision that capped off UFC 195′s welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit all we want. We can take to Twitter to vent our frustrations with an (admittedly) outdated judging system until the cows come home. In fact, we have been for years, but with no change in sight, it’s probably best that we just focus on the latest in what has been an incredible series of title fights for the UFC, and that’s exactly what Lawler vs. Condit was.

Summer is winding down, which means we’re in the latter stages of 2015. It also means football season is finally here. But do you know what else it means? There’s still a whole slew of mixed martial arts fights that we have to look forward to, so with that in mind, here are the top 10 fights that you, Potato Nation, should check out or – at the very least – set your DVR to as we wind down the year:

Fresh off their crowd-pleasing, uber-violent wins over Rory MacDonald and Thiago Alves, respectively, the UFC announced via UFC Tonight yesterday that welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will defend his title against Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 193 on November 14th in Melbourne, Australia. Said an official UFC spokesman:

With the next welterweight champion set to be determined in November, you’re probably wondering, “Well, who will be the next NEXT challenger?! I need to know NOW!!!” First off, calm down and stop being so goddamn needy, and secondly, the UFC is already one step and a few billion dollars ahead of you…

It’s an easy declaration to make with Fight Night 67 now in the rearview mirror, but heading into last weekend’s epically-unattended-but-actually-quite-entertaining card, many of us feared that we would be in store for a Carlos Condit performance that showed every bit the wear and tear that a near 50-fight veteran coming of ACL surgery could. We expected this fight to be the first sign in the downswing of Condit, by my God were we wrong.

In a vintage Condit performance — from his aggressive, eight-limbed attack right down to the pools of blood that painted the canvas when all was said and done — the former interim welterweight champion thrashed a battle ready Thiago Alves until the ringside doctor’s said no more. It was an inspiring, technically brilliant display from Condit, and one that launched him right back into the title picture with a resounding…crunch of nose bones being broken.

Even our newly-minted, young-gun champions, Chris Weidman and Johny Hendricks, have been bitten by the injury bug recently, going down with a knee injury and torn bicep/fractured shin, respectively. Honestly, it makes one consider whether fighting for tens of thousands of hundreds of dollars is really worth spending the majority of your prime years battling injuries that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix, but I digress.

Amidst all the black clouds currently hovering over the MMA landscape, however is a silver lining. Following successful bicep surgery, Hendricks has already set a timetable for his return, telling The MMA Hourthat he is hoping for a 4 to 8 week rehabilitation period before he can resume training. For some gruesome before and after photos of Hendricks’ shredded ligaments, plus updates on Weidman and Carlos Condit, join us after the jump.

Joe Rogan performs the job of MMA color-commentator better than virtually anybody else in the world. From his ability to explain complex grappling concepts on the fly, to his honest criticism of fighters, cornermen, officials, and ice-buckets when they deserve it, Rogan does a lot behind the broadcast booth that’s admirable. And for a guy who makes his living as a comedian, he shows remarkable restraint in not turning his commentary gigs into a constant yuk-fest.

UFC 171 gave us a pretty good example of this during the Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley fight, which Condit was a clear favorite going into — in terms of betting odds as well as the UFC’s future plans. But even as Woodley dominated the majority of the match, it seemed like Joe Rogan was instead doing a play-by-play about how Woodley was gassing out because he’s too muscular. Woodley, as you can imagine, wasn’t too impressed afterwards. Here’s what he said about Rogan’s commentary in an interview with mmamental (via MMAFighting):

“It’s almost like they’re punishing you for training hard. They’re punishing you for being physically fit. I think Joe Rogan is horrendous for his commentary that he did for that fight. Everything was, ‘Oh, Tyron threw a hard bomb but Carlos took it. He’s got such a great chin. Oh, Tyron has a takedown. Look at Carlos. He’s doing the mission impossible guard [mission control].’ Everything that I did he was leaning it towards the credit of Carlos Condit.

But one thing’s for the certain, the UFC’s welterweight division — and specifically, the claim of being the true #1 contender — is open for the taking once again. So to clear up any and all confusion regarding this talent-rich division, we’ve decided to definitively rank the top five contenders using only the power of Johny Vision™ (warning: may cause diarrhea, dip-spit mouth, and beard face).

Up until the point that Carlos Condit’s knee decided to implode against Tyron Woodley, well, he was losing his fight with Tyron Woodley. The notoriously slow starter was getting off second and failing to outmaneuver the quick hands of Woodley in most of their early exchanges and was taken down twice in the first round. But getting dominated? Hardly.

Though the exact condition of Condit’s knee won’t be known until he undergoes an MRI, MMAJunkie passes along word that the welterweight contender suffered a small meniscus tear and possibly a torn ACL, according to the initial diagnosis given to him at a local hospital following the fight. His recovery timetable is uncertain at this point; we’ll update you as soon as we know more.

After the jump: Highlights from the Condit vs. Woodley fight, and Woodley’s post-fight interview, in which he respectfully requests a title shot.